Fortune 500 Companies Represented in Charlotte

A major indicator of a city’s economic strength and stability is the presence of Fortune 500 operations. The Fortune 500 list is compiled each year by Fortune magazine by ranking the previous year’s annual revenues of large national and multinational corporations headquartered in the United States. Revenue does not have a direct relationship with profits or market value, but the list is a quantitative symbol of the scope, power and size of a particular company. Because Fortune does not include companies that do not file financial statements with government agencies or companies incorporated outside of the U.S., large corporations like Compass Group, Hendrick Automotive Group, Ingersoll Rand and National Gypsum Company are excluded from the list.

The companies on the Fortune 500 list represent an array of industries. They are also structurally diverse, ranging from partnerships and alliances to multiple business entities. It is no surprise that metro areas find it attractive to recruit these companies’ headquarters due to the potential capital and labor investment and the extent of secondary investment. These headquarters also give global recognition to a city as a major center of business activity and contribute greatly to corporate giving for arts, education and cultural amenities in an area.

The Charlotte metro area boasts seven Fortune 500 headquarters, ranking the MSA 20th nationally in number of Fortune 500 company headquarters. These headquarters represent more than $223.4 billion in revenue for 2013. More importantly, 291 of the Fortune 500 companies have made a commitment to Charlotte by placing one or more of their facilities within the MSA. This report lists a key representative of each of the Fortune companies that have a facility in the Charlotte MSA.

The Charlotte metropolitan statistical area (MSA) includes the following counties: Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan and Union in North Carolina, and Chester, Lancaster and York in South Carolina.

Charlotte Area Fortune 500 Headquarters

Rank

Company

Revenue ($ billions)

21

Bank of America

$101.7

52

Lowe's*

$53.4

123

Duke Energy

$24.6

150

Nucor

$19.1

271

Family Dollar Stores

$10.4

309

Sonic Automotive

$8.8

469

Domtar*

$5.4

*Lowe’s and Domtar are located outside of Mecklenburg County but in the Charlotte region, so they are not included in the headquarters ranking. The ranking does include Family Dollar in Matthews, N.C., which is in Mecklenburg County.

While Charlotte did not gain any new Fortune 500 headquarters in the 2014 listing, a few companies climbed up in the rankings and one fell off into the Fortune 1000. Duke Energy climbed from No. 145 to No. 123. Since its merger with Progress Energy, Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the nation. Family Dollar Stores continued its rise in the rankings, moving 16 spots to No. 271. In 2013, Family Dollar had moved from No. 301 to No. 287. SPX dropped off the Fortune 500 list, moving from No. 431 in 2013 to No. 503.

The Charlotte area now boasts 10 Fortune 1000 headquarters. SPX Corporation, CommScope Holding Company, Inc. and Curtiss-Wright Controls joined the 2014 list. This brings the total number of Fortune 1000 headquarters in the Charlotte region to 17 (including the Fortune 500 companies).

The state of North Carolina is home to 13 Fortune 500 headquarters, with the city of Charlotte claiming the largest number of headquarters in the state (four). Winston-Salem and Greensboro both boast two headquarters each, and Burlington, Cary, Durham, Matthews and Mooresville each claim one.

The research for this report was conducted by referencing the 2014 Fortune 500 list to online directories and company websites to produce a list of Fortune 500 affiliates and subsidiaries located in the Charlotte MSA. The goal of this report is not to link all Fortune 500 companies in the area to their parent; it is to identify a major holding of the parent in the Charlotte market to ensure its presence. Thus, all of the Fortune 500 affiliates that do business in the area may not be listed in this report. Only those companies with major affiliates clearly identified by a physical office or location within the Charlotte MSA are included. One major office for each identified Fortune 500 company is listed. Any additional subsidiaries are listed by name and can be referenced to the local phone directory for further contact information.